


Guard Dog

by Ermerness



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 01:14:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20219353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ermerness/pseuds/Ermerness
Summary: Callum tries to break up a pub fight and gets arrested in the process. Ben picks him up from police custody the next morning and finds out Callum got hurt during the fight. Basically overly-protective-boyfriend!Ben.





	Guard Dog

Ben gives a smug grin as he swaggers into the police station, leather jacket on and sunglasses perched on his head. He sees the exact moment the custody desk sergeant spots him, recognising him instantly as a look of annoyance crosses his face. 

“Mitchell, you on bail for something again and coming to sign on?” he asks, standing up and leaning forward to narrow his eyes at Ben. 

“You would think that,” Ben says with a cheeky grin. “I'm actually here to pick someone up from your lovely cell accommodation.”

“Course you know someone in custody right now,” the sergeant says with a sigh and turns to his computer. “Name?”

“Callum Highway,” Ben says, glancing around the sparse, grey area of the custody reception which he's sadly very familiar with. 

The sergeant stops, fingers hovering over his keyboard, and slowly looks up at Ben. “That nice lad someone you know?” he asks, sounding slightly concerned. 

“Yep, that nice lad is my other half,” Ben says with a smile, rocking back on his heels as he sees the look of horror cross the sergeant's face. 

The sergeant sighs heavily and types his name into the system. “He's being released without charge so we'll go get him,” he says with a heavy sigh, like he's disappointed Callum would know a Mitchell, let alone be in a relationship with one. He pauses at the door to the area leading to the cells, “he's a nice boy. He should keep himself out of trouble.”

Ben frowns at the obvious judgement that he had something directly to do with Callum being arrested and being held in a cell. Fair enough it was his fault when they'd first met and he'd sold him a stolen car but this time he'd been at home with Lexi when he got a frantic call from Lola who'd been at the pub where something had kicked off. Callum had been in there chatting to Shirley and immediately stepped into the fray to try and de-escalate the situation and hold people back. In the ensuing chaos the police had arrested him believing he was part of the incident. Ben had been told he'd be held overnight whilst they investigated who was and who wasn't involved in the affray. Ben knew without a doubt Callum wouldn't have been directly involved.

Ben turns as the door unlocks and they bring a very tired, weary looking Callum out to the custody desk. Ben smiles at him, eyes teasing. “Who knew out of you and me it would be me picking you up from police custody and not the other way around?” 

“Yeah we're all surprised,” the sergeant says dryly as he goes back behind the desk and types into his computer. Callum nods as he listens diligently to the sergeant read out that he is being released with no further action being taken against him. Just before Callum turns away so Ben can take him home the sergeant interjects. “You haven't got a record, son, so try and keep your nose clean, yeah?” He says, sounding slightly concerned as his eyes slide to Ben. 

Ben feels his jaw tighten with annoyance. He's been getting snarky comments and concerned looks from people ever since he and Callum had become an official couple. Everyone saw him as the devil to Callum's innocent angel and that he would eventually drag him down and be a bad influence. It makes him feel so undeserving of Callum's love. 

“Thanks for that unnecessary advice, mate,” Ben snaps, walking over and taking Callum's hand in his and giving Callum's stubbly cheek a kiss. “You OK?”

“Yeah, I'm fine, just tired.” Callum rubs a hand over the back of his neck, eyes slightly glazed over with exhaustion. 

They exit the police station together and Ben takes him over to a car he's borrowing from the lot. He stops and turns to Callum, putting both hands on his shoulders so he can look at him properly in the harsh light of day. He notices a faint bruise on his cheek. No one had mentioned that Callum was actually hurt and his jaw tightens. “Who did that to ya?” Ben asks softly reaching a hand up to run a thumb across Callum's bruised cheek. Callum sighs softly, like Ben's touch alone is giving him everything he needs in that moment. 

Callum opens his eyes and glances away as he says “don't know.”

Ben cocks his head to the side, feeling his stomach twist in annoyance. “You do know. Who did that to you?” he asks again, voice losing its previous softness and becoming more demanding. 

“I ain't going to say,” Callum finally says stubbornly, meeting Ben's hard gaze. 

Ben feels his body tighten, the familiar feeling of anger coiling in his stomach. The anger isn't for Callum but for whoever hurt him. 

“I need to know. Best it comes from you than from me finding out myself,” Ben says, threat evident in his voice. 

“Why do you always do this?” Callum asks in frustration, taking a step back. “I was in the middle of things, trying to stop people fighting, and someone swung in my direction. They weren't aiming for me, Ben, OK? No one attacked me personally, I just got in the way.” Callum turns to go around the car, like the conversation is over, but Ben wraps his hand around his wrist, stopping him from walking away. 

“I don't want you doing that ever again. No getting involved in a battle that ain't yours and being the hero, you understand? And anyway, I don't care that you were in the middle of a fight trying to break it up, who was it who hit ya?”

Callum sighs and looks skyward in annoyance. “So what? I tell you who it is and you send them a strongly worded letter? I know how this ends, Ben. It's with you arrested for serious assault because you think you're protecting me or some shit. I don't need protectin'. It was an accident – leave it.”

Callum pulls his hand out of Ben's grasp and gets into the car. Ben furrows his brow into a deep frown and gets in his side of the car, slamming the door shut hard. 

They don't talk on the drive back and once they get into Callum's flat, Callum immediately strips off and goes for a shower. Ben goes to follow him because sometimes Callum and he talk when Callum's in the shower. Well – Callum talks, Ben just sits and stares at a naked, wet Callum with his mouth open. This time Callum shuts the door so Ben takes the hint and collapses onto the sofa instead. As he hears the water turn on he gets his phone out, texting Lola and a few others about whether they have a name for the guy who punched Callum. Unsurprisingly he gets silence in response. They'll know the reason for asking isn't so he can send the man some flowers. 

The water shuts off after 10 minutes and Callum reappears with a towel around his waist, wet hair sticking to his forehead. 

“Better?” Ben asks, looking up from his phone. 

“Yeah, much.” He starts to walk toward the bedroom but stops and turns. “I don't wanna fight with ya. I just... don't need you walking around like a personal guard dog. I can handle myself.”

Ben scoffs and heaves himself off the couch to stand. “You think you can but you don't know what some blokes are like.”

Callum's face softens and he walks over to Ben, using his hand to cup Ben's face tenderly. “This is about Paul,” he states knowingly. “I'm not going to get murdered, Ben. I don't need to constantly have you fighting my battles or throwing a hissy fit every time someone gives me an odd look.”

“I love you,” Ben states, eyes fixed on Callum's. “I have to protect ya because if anything ever happened to you, I wouldn't ever get over it, I know I wouldn't.”

Callum smiles and bends his head down to ghost a kiss over Ben's lips. “Love you, too. But I don't think a relationship with you spending a life sentence in prison will work, ya know?”

Ben's smile turns teasing. “You wouldn't come for a conjugal visit every day?” Ben asks, looking up at Callum with a smirk as his hand goes to where Callum's towel is knotted around his waist and quickly pulls it off so it pools on the floor. 

“I've just got out of spending a night in a cell, Ben. Not really in the mood,” Callum says, stepping away and picking up his towel. Ben watches him go, eyes fixed on his bare ass. 

“Maybe later? We could role play prisoner and prison guard,” Ben calls after him and Callum shuts the bedroom door with a laugh. 

…

Ben shoves another chip into his mouth as he looks across the cafe table at Lola who's chatting away to him about something Lexi did at school. Normally he'd be listening avidly and with genuine interest but he needs information from her and he needs to be careful how he does it. 

He waits for a lull in their conversation before bringing it up as casually as he can. “Heard they charged couple of the guys in that pub fight and they're out on bail.”

“Yeah, good thing considering all the shit they started,” Lola comments. 

“Callum seems alright considering the punch he got.”

Lola nods as she picks at her chips, “Yeah, he was well brave getting involved like that.”

Ben sits back and tries to look as casual as possible. “You see him get punched?”

Lola looks at him knowingly. “Look, I don't know who he was, OK? All I saw is Callum hold this guy back from the bloke he was going for. Guy got pissed off he was being restrained and clocked him.”

Ben jerks forward, eyes narrowing and jaw going tight. “Scuse me? Callum told me it was an accidental punch. He got in the way or something,” Ben says, trying to keep the anger rising inside him under wraps. 

Lola shrugs. “Well, he was trying to get Callum to let him go so he could get to the other guy so he was caught in the middle a bit I guess.”

Ben's eyes darken and he leans even further over to Lola, voice low. “Which guy was it out of the 2 that got charged?”

Lola immediately stiffens and sits back in her chair. “No way am I being responsible for you going and kicking off on this guy.”

“Lola,” Ben says, slight threat in his tone, “I ain't messin. Tell me which one it was alright?”

Lola holds her ground and if Ben wasn't getting so riled up he'd be impressed at her stubbornness. “Ask Callum. I ain't telling ya nothing.” She gets up, chair legs squeaking against the floor before walking out. Ben's fist clenches, his fingernails digging into his palm. He breathes in and out a few times before heading over to The Vic.

…

“No,” Shirley states loudly as Ben leans on the bar, looking at her. He'd only just walked in and hadn't even opened his mouth. 

“No what?” Ben asks, head cocked to the side. 

“No, I ain't tell you nothing.”

Ben huffs and stands up straight. “Why not?”

“Because you need to stay out of trouble and Callum doesn't need you in prison,” Shirley states, eyes hard and stubborn. 

Ben looks skyward in frustration and his hands clench against the bar top. “Fine, Mick around?”

“Go home.”

“I'll ask again – is Mick around?” Ben asks, voice low and tight. 

“No. Go home before I kick you out for being an annoying asshole,” Shirley says, turning her back on him and walking to the other end of the bar to deal with a customer. 

“Fucksake,” Ben mutters darkly under his breath before walking out, slamming the pub door harder than necessary. 

…

“Heard you're on the war path,” Jay says as Ben walks into his office without knocking, his face stern and hard. Jay sits behind the desk, only glancing up at Ben.

“How's that?”

“Lola text saying you're going to get yourself in trouble as she let spill it wasn't an accidental punch as such.”

“I'm going to handle it, alright?” Ben snaps, his hands curling onto the back of the chair in front of Jay's desk. “I just need to know who it was, that's all. I dunno why everyone is being so fucking secretive.”

“Yeah well, we all know how you feel about Callum and we all know how you feel about people harming Callum so we're trying to keep you out of prison.”

Ben slams a hand, hard, onto the desk. “It's my decision how I fucking deal with this. I ain't going to let someone who punched my boyfriend walk around.”

“Not your choice,” a voice behind him says and he turns to see a very unimpressed Callum standing in the doorway. “I thought we were done with this.”

“You lied to me,” Ben snaps, pointing his finger at Callum accusingly. “He was aiming his punch at you.”

“Just cos he wanted me to back off and I didn't. It won't be the first or last time I get hit in the face let's be honest,” Callum says, trying to keep it light but the look of thunderous anger that flashes across Ben's face makes him take a step back. “Not that I'm trying to get hit in the face.”

Callum approaches Ben slowly, like he's going up to a wild animal that's prone to attack, and runs a hand from his shoulder to his cheek. “Leave it, OK? I can't have you dumping bodies in rivers or anything just because a bloke got angry. You ever considered that I don't tell you the full story cos I know you'll over react and do something stupid? If you want me to tell you things, open up to you and not be afraid of telling you stuff then I need to know you're not going to do something stupid, yeah?”

Ben breathes in and out slowly, his body slowly relaxing and some of the anger he had evaporating as Callum leans in to kiss him on the mouth softly. 

“Promise me you'll let it go,” Callum asks softly, eyes pleading. Ben wants to say no way, he wants to hunt down the asshole who punched his boyfriend and make him wish he wasn't born. He wants everyone to know you cannot ever touch Callum Highway without consequences. But he also knows that if he loses Callum's trust now that if, or when, something worse happens then he won't be told and that terrifies him. He decides to lose this battle so he can ensure he wins any future war. 

Ben nods slowly and Callum smiles gratefully, kissing his cheek before turning and leaving the office. 

“God, you're smitten, mate. It's a bit disgusting,” Jay comments. 

“Shut up,” Ben snaps at him. 

“You really going to let it go?”

Ben nods sincerely. “Yeah I am. Can't promise I'll let it go next time but we'll see.”

“Keep your head on ya. Callum ain't the type to get into much trouble anyway – it's you I worry about.”

Ben rolls his eyes before giving giving Jay a smirk. “Any chance Callum can knock off early?”

“Why?” Jay asks, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. 

“I could come up with an excuse but the truth is I'm in the mood for a good shag.”

Jay shuts his eyes in exasperation and goes back to his work. “Take him to yours so I don't have to hear any noises.”

“You're the best,” Ben says with a grin before heading off to find Callum.

…

Ben breathes heavily, gasping for air as Callum rolls off from being on top of him. Ben lets his legs flop down as Callum sits at the side of the bed, cleaning himself up. 

“That was amazin'” Ben says, grinning up at the ceiling as he lets a hand go to Callum's back and rub softly. “Not going to be able to sit down at work for a bit.”

Callum looks over his shoulder with concern, eyebrows knitted together. “Was I too rough?”

Ben huffs a laugh. “You were perfect, don't worry. You've come a long way since checking on me after every thrust,” Ben says with a wink. Callum relaxes and moves back to lie down next to Ben in bed. 

“Thanks for letting it go,” Callum says softly. 

“Yeah well, just this once. If someone else goes for ya I'll make sure they end up at the bottom of the Thames.” Callum stares at him, eyes wide in horror. “I'm joking.”

“Are you?” 

“Might be,” Ben says with a teasing smile and Callum just gives him an unimpressed look. “Gotta make sure no one messes with ya.”

Callum shakes his head. “You're exhausting.”

“You're cute,” Ben fires back. He leans over to kiss Callum's still flushed pink cheek before running a gentle finger along the stubble there. “Maybe you could get a tattoo on your face right here saying 'do not touch: property of Ben Mitchell.'” 

“That'd be subtle,” Callum says, rolling his eyes. 

“Keep people from touching ya.” Ben rubs his finger across Callum's soft lips before leaning in for another kiss. It's deep and consuming and possessive. Callum pulls back before cuddling against Ben's body, letting out a long, content sigh.

**Author's Note:**

> Can't believe how long it's been since some good Ballum content so I'll just keep writing to fill the void. Hope you enjoy!!


End file.
